Transparency first

We want to address a misunderstanding we had tonight during our 7 p.m. newscast Thursday.

Attorney John Phillips, who was on our legal panel on Thursday night, addressed a witness in the Trayvon Martin trial, Rachel Jeantel as "Precious."

In context, we believed that she had stated that was her nickname during testimony.

After the newscast, we recognized that this was a misunderstanding and how her nickname could be perceived in the context of the feature film of the same name.

Phillips released a statement tonight saying, "I said something unintentionally insensitive today. It came from a friend of the family, that it was once a term of endearment. I didn't know about the movie or mean harm. I apologize ... for any mischaracterization."